Vera's Brenda Blethyn responds to retirement question
Vera star Brenda Blethyn has responded to a question regarding the possibility of a retirement, sharing that she had no plans to give up acting anytime soon.
It was announced earlier this year that the ITV crime-drama would conclude with its upcoming 14th season, bringing an end to Blethyn’s 13-year stint as the nearly-retired detective.
Ahead of the show’s impending conclusion, Blethyn revealed during an interview with the British Film Institute – which was commemorating the ITV series – that she had no plans to stop working, sharing (via RadioTimes): “Oh no, I haven't retired. I've just come south!”
Blethyn, who received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in Secrets & Lies, also spoke about her decade-long experience on the ITV show, sharing that she wanted to spend the summers with her family.
“While, through Vera, I have my Newcastle family who I love so much, I also have a family of my own back at home who I haven't been able to see as much as I'd like, because of filming,” she said.
“I don't know what the retiring age of a policeman/woman is, but ITV were, I think, happy for me to carry on. I’d have been on a Zimmer. I'm 78. I mean, you see more and more of older women nowadays, and I applaud it. It's brilliant.”
Though Vera will bow out over the festive season, Blethyn already has another project lined up, with the actor set to star alongside Andrea Riseborough in a film – which seems to be called Dragonfly – from Paul Andrew Williams.
“I was home, I hadn't even unpacked my bag,” she recalled of the casting call for the upcoming film. “My agent called me and said, 'Oh, you've been offered a film.' I said, 'I don't want to do a film. I haven't unpacked yet. She said, 'Oh, it is with Andrea Riseborough.' I said, 'Oh, is it?'
“And she said, 'It starts next week because somebody had dropped out and it's written and directed by Paul Andrew Williams. I said, 'Oh, well, I better have a little read of it just to... but no, I'm not doing it, but I'll have a read of it.' And I liked it, so I did it.”
Vera airs on ITV1 and streams on ITVX.
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